pancake compressor leaking air from inside the the motor area

allen levine

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new york city burbs
I have a PC red pancake compressor, the 6 gallon one.
It is leaking air from inside the motor compartment, I checked all the hoses and everything is fine.
I cannot see any other hoses but the air is constantly leaking out, hissing, and the compressor keeps kicking on to refill the tank.
I sprayed the release valve on the bottom also to check it, but you can hear its obviously coming out of somewhere inside the head of the unit where I cant see anything.
any ideas, Im not the most talented when it comes to machines, I dare not take the thing apart or attempted to.
 
allen spray around the top of the head with some soapy water, or feel around there with your hand..sounds like a blown gasket??? how old is it? any warranty?
 
Im reluctant to remove anything, so Ill wait for my son to stop over and Ill have him take it down and Ill have him spray the inside.

My contractor neigbhor said it might be the check valve, as he used to use one of these, and he had the same air leak and said his check valve needed to be replaced.(I saw the check valve on the diagram, thanx darren)


larry, it was one of the first things I purchased when I started woodworking, so Id guess I purchased it end of 2006.
 
if your contrator friend mentioned the check valve then check it before doing any dis assembly.. those that use tools like this every day know what they are talking about..
 
It was the check valve on mine a year ago... $2 part, roughly, as far as I recall.
And the sound was definitely from inside the motor, which was what threw me off back then also. The pipe from the check valve goes to the piston, so if the valve leaks, the air is pushed back into the cylinder, which is what makes you think it is the piston/motor.

Edited with more info:

Okay I dug it up and here is the thread from Feb/2011 on the Canadian forum.
And this reminded me of a way to diagnose it, Allen. If you can blow backwards through the pipe connected to the check valve, then you know it's busted. But scan through that thread and you'll find more discussion/info about how to diagnose it.

And I was wrong about the cost, it was about $10 for me. Which is still far cheaper than a new one. (For one thing I'd never buy another one of these, I'd look for a quieter oil-lubed twin stack or something like it. MAN is it loud.)
 
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thanx art, my compressor continues to lose air and hiss after I turn the motor off, it loses air until its completely empty.
my neighbor said when the air is escaping and its not any of the connections on top, the air is leaking out through that valve. Im thinking hes right. Ill go over the diagram again, and see if I can pull the hose off myself and blow into it.
Ill order the valve if necessary.

thanx for all the help, it isnt that I didnt think my buddy knew what he was talking about, its just that I value the advice here.

btw, the part is 16 now, so Ill check it out in the morning and order if necessary.
I dont use a compressor too often, so Id rather just get a part and keep using it.\
I did pickup a drain valve at home depot last year as it was leaking and wouldnt close tight.Im thinking they might sell the check valve also if I need one.
 
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I couldnt get the check valve out, it was basically frozen/rusted on. My son finally got it off, and with the new one, the compressor is working perfectlly again. Happy, didnt want to spend money on something I dont use often.
It was a good day, got alot of little things done, and got a new cap on my pickup today.
 
I couldnt get the check valve out, it was basically frozen/rusted on. My son finally got it off, and with the new one, the compressor is working perfectlly again. Happy, didnt want to spend money on something I dont use often.
It was a good day, got alot of little things done, and got a new cap on my pickup today.

glad to got it handled. :thumb: And congrats on the new cap for the truck.
 
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